Reactive Placement Controller for Interfacing with Banked Memory Storage

ABSTRACT

An invention is provided for a reactive placement controller for interfacing with a banked memory storage. The reactive placement controller includes a read/write module, which is coupled to a command control module for a banked memory device. A command queue is included that comprises a plurality of queue entries coupled in series, with a top queue entry coupled to the read/write module. Each queue entry is capable of storing a memory command. Each queue entry includes its own queue control logic that functions to control storage of new memory commands into the command queue to reduce latency of commands in the command queue.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationhaving Ser. No. 10/702,916, filed on Nov. 15, 2003, by inventors StevenShrader and Michael McKeon, and entitled “Reactive Placement Controllerfor Interfacing with Banked Memory Storage,” which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to memory interfaces, and moreparticularly to a reactive placement controller for ordering andinserting data transfer commands for banked memory storage.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many memory devices are designed to have a banking nature in order toincrease the density of the memory. Unfortunately, the banking nature ofthe memory devices requires additional cycles to perform setupoperations for memory access operations. For example, FIG. 1 is aschematic diagram showing a prior art dynamic random access memory(DRAM) 100. The exemplary DRAM 100 includes a plurality of memory banks102 a-102 d, each associated with a page holder 104 a-104 d.

Each memory bank 102 a-102 d is divided into a plurality of pages 108a-108 b of data. For example, a particular DRAM could store 32 megabitsof data in each memory bank 102 a-102 d. In this case, each memory bank102 a-102 d stores about four thousand pages 108 a-108 b, with each page108 a-108 b having about four thousand bits of data.

The DRAM 100 is a very dense memory array, however data access to theDRAM 100 can be slow because of the setup time required to access thememory banks 102 a-102 d. For example, to access stored data, a requestis made for a particular page within a particular memory bank. Thisrequest typically takes the form of a row address corresponding to theselected page, and a bank address corresponding to the selected bank.For example, a read request can be received for data stored in page 108a of memory bank 102 a. In response, page 108 a is transferred to thepage holder 104 a, which is associated with memory bank 102 a. To accessparticular data within the selected page 108 a, a column address isprovided that points to the desired data. Each column address points toa segment of data within the selected page that is the width of theDRAM. For example, if the output 106 of the DRAM 100 is sixteen bits,each column address points to sixteen bits of data within the page 108 astored in the page holder 104 a. Increased efficiency is obtained byassociating a page holder 104 a-104 d with each memory bank 102 a-102 d,allowing each memory bank 102 a-102 d to operate independently.

In a DRAM, such as illustrated in FIG. 1, the worst efficiency occurswhen two memory access operations are received for different pages inthe same memory bank, as illustrated next in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2A is atiming diagram illustrating a prior art DRAM access of two differentpages in the same memory bank. In a first clock cycle 1, the DRAMreceives a request for data located on page 108 a of memory bank 102 a.In this example it is assume four cycles are required to transfer therequested page from the memory bank to the associated page holder. Thus,in clock cycle 5 a read request can be processed for page holder 104 a,which is associated with memory bank 102 a and currently stores page 108a. Here, sixty-four bits of data are requested requiring four cycles tocomplete.

The process of pushing a page from a memory bank to a page holder erasesthe page data from the memory bank. Hence, when a second page is to bepushed into the same page holder, the first page must be stored backinto the memory bank if the data is to be retained. This is referred toas a precharge or refresh. Hence, after the requested data is read, page108 a is stored back into memory bank 102 a requiring, in this example,two additional clock cycles. Thereafter, on cycle 12, the request fordata located on page 108 a′ of memory bank 102 a can begin processing.

After twelve clock cycles only four sixteen-bit data chunks have beenreceived, which is unacceptable for many systems. To decrease thislatency, systems have been developed to “look ahead” in the data streamto more efficiently send requests to the banked memory device. FIG. 2Bis a timing diagram illustrating a prior art DRAM access of twodifferent pages in the same memory bank wherein an additional memoryaccess command is inserted to increase data access efficiency. In theexample of FIG. 2B, the memory interface has determined that a thirdrequest for a page located in memory bank 102 b has been received. Sincememory banks 102 a and 102 b can operate independently, memory accesscan be improved by processing both data requests together. Thus, therequest for page 108 b in memory bank 102 b is inserted in clock cycle2. As above, it is assume four cycles are required to transfer page 108b from the memory bank 102 b to the associated page holder 104 b.Although the requested data is available on clock cycle 6, the DRAMoutput is being utilized in that clock cycle to output the data frompage 108 a. Thus, the output for page 108 b begins after the data forpage 108 a is read, in clock cycle 10. Now, after twelve clock cyclesseven sixteen-bit data chunks have been output from the DRAM, which isimproved from FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary prior art DRAMcontroller 300 for reordering memory access commands to increase DRAMefficiency. The DRAM controller 300 includes a command input 302, aplurality of queue entries 304 coupled to a multiplexer 308, and a queuecontrol 306 that provides control signals to the multiplexer 308. Themultiplexer 308 also is coupled to a read/write control 312, whichprovides data to a command control 314. In addition, the queue control306 is coupled to a bank control 310 that also provides data to thecommand control 314.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, most queues for DRAM controllers are based ona standard circular queue with separate bank control module. In the DRAMcontroller 300, the queue entries 304 only contain data for anindividual command such as address, length, and read/write flag. Thequeue control module 306 has a direct connection to each queue entry 304to determine which queue entry data to send to the read/write controlmodule 312. The queue control module 306 selects which command toexecute and tells the bank control module 310 to prepare the bank. Whenthe bank is prepared queue control 306 selects the command to be sent tothe read/write control module 312.

Unfortunately, the DRAM bank control presents a major problem in theprior art DRAM controller 300. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, commands tothe memory to set up banks need to be ahead of the read/write command bya number of cycles. Because of this, the jobs of the queue control 306and bank control 310 processes are difficult. A command needs to beselected a long time in advance in order to have the bank control module310 address the bank to the correct address. When the number of banks inthe system increases because of the controller 300 is configured formultiple ranks, the problem of bank control goes up exponentially.

The difficulty with the DRAM controller 300 is that as the number ofqueue entries 304 is expanded the multiplexer 308 to select the numberof queue entries 304 also grows. This problem is increased also due tothe fact that the multiplexer 308 is muxing a very large number of bits.The address, length, and read/write flag alone typically is about 40bits. For example, if the number of queue entries 304 is sixteen, thetotal number of bits to mux is 16*40=640 bits. This large number of bitspresents a problem in synthesis. Furthermore, the queue control module306 adds additional time to the selection process because of the complextask the queue control module 306 performs. That is, selecting thecorrect command based on the command type and bank status and priority.The timing for the queue control module 306 also increases as the numberof queue entries 304 increases.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a DRAM controller forordering and inserting data transfer commands for banked memory storagethat avoids exponential increases in complexity as the “look ahead”functionality increases. The DRAM controller should allow a linearprogression of complexity as the number of queue entries increasesinstead of an exponential increase as is experienced in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Broadly speaking, the present invention fills these needs by providing areactive placement controller for ordering and inserting data transfercommands for banked memory storage. In one embodiment, a reactiveplacement controller for interfacing with a banked memory storage isdisclosed. The reactive placement controller includes a read/writemodule, which is coupled to a command control module for a banked memorydevice. A command queue also is included that comprises a plurality ofqueue entries coupled in series, with a top queue entry coupled to theread/write module. Each queue entry is capable of storing a memorycommand. Each queue entry includes its own queue control logic thatfunctions to control storage of new memory commands into the commandqueue to reduce latency of commands in the command queue. In one aspect,the queue control logic for each queue entry can group new inboundcommands into brackets, each bracket being a soft division of thecommand queue based on command data. For example, the queue controllogic for each queue entry can group new inbound commands into prioritybrackets based on a priority value of the command. Within the prioritybrackets, the queue control logic can group new inbound commands intoread/write brackets based on a priority value of the command and a typeof the command. Further, within the read/write brackets, read commandscan be grouped with read commands and write commands can be grouped withwrite commands. In addition, the queue control logic for each queueentry can group new inbound commands into bank split brackets based on apriority value of the command, a type of the command, and bank collisionproximity to other commands in the command queue.

A method for placing commands within a queue of a placement controlleris disclosed in a further embodiment of the present invention. Themethod includes receiving a new inbound command for a banked memorydevice, where the new inbound command has an associated priority value,a command type, and an address for the memory. A determination is thenmade as to whether a priority bracket exists for the priority value ofthe new inbound command. When a priority bracket exists for the priorityvalue, a determination is made as to whether a read/write bracket existswithin the priority bracket for the command type of the new inboundcommand. Then, when a read/write bracket exists for the command type, adetermination is made as to whether the new inbound command addresses adifferent page in a memory bank addressed by a command in an adjacentqueue entry. In one aspect, the new inbound command can be placed withinthe command queue based on existing priority brackets when a prioritybracket does not exist for the priority value of the new inboundcommand. Also, the current executing command can be interrupted when thepriority value of the new inbound command is higher than the priority ofthe current executing command. When a read/write bracket does not existwithin the priority bracket for the command type of the new inboundcommand, a read/write bracket can be created and the new inbound commandcan be placed in a queue entry within the priority bracket. Also, thenew inbound command generally is placed in a queue entry in theread/write bracket such that the new inbound command is not adjacent toa command addressing a different page in the memory bank addressed bythe new inbound command.

A further reactive placement controller for interfacing with a bankedmemory storage is disclosed in an additional embodiment. The reactiveplacement controller includes a read/write module coupled to a commandcontrol module for a banked memory device. Also, a command queue isincluded that has a plurality of queue entries coupled in series. Asabove, the plurality of queue entries includes a top queue entry coupledto the read/write module, and each queue entry is capable of storing amemory command. In addition, each queue entry is coupled to a pluralityof priority chains. Each priority chain includes a plurality of ANDgates in a chain, and is capable of allowing higher priority queueentries to disable lower priority queue entries. In one aspect, theplurality of priority chains includes a “Priority” priority chain thatis controlled by a command priority value of commands. The “Priority”priority chain is capable of disabling queue entries storing commandshaving a higher priority than a new inbound command. The plurality ofpriority chains can also include a bank split priority chain that iscontrolled by an address value of commands. The bank split prioritychain is capable of disabling queue entries storing commands causing abank conflict between adjacent queue entries.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with further advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a prior art dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM);

FIG. 2A is a timing diagram illustrating a prior art DRAM access of twodifferent pages in the same memory bank;

FIG. 2B is a timing diagram illustrating a prior art DRAM access of twodifferent pages in the same memory bank wherein an additional memoryaccess command is inserted to increase data access efficiency;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary prior art DRAMcontroller for reordering memory access commands to increase DRAMefficiency;

FIG. 4 is a high-level schematic diagram of the components of amulti-port memory controller in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a placement controller, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for placing commands within thequeue of the placement controller, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of priority chains, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An invention is disclosed for a reactive placement controller forordering and inserting data transfer commands for banked memory storage.Embodiments of the present invention place queue control logic in eachqueue entry. Since each queue control logic is only required to examinedata bits from itself and adjacent queue entries, embodiments of thepresent invention allow a linear progression of complexity as the numberof queue entries increases instead of an exponential increase as isexperienced in the prior art.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process steps have not beendescribed in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the presentinvention.

In one embodiment, a reactive placement controller of the presentinvention can be utilized in a multi-port memory controller to enhanceusage of a banked memory device. FIG. 4 is a high-level schematicdiagram of the components of a multi-port memory controller 400 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The memory controller400 includes an initiator block 404, a placement controller and writedata queue block 406, and a DRAM command arbitration block 408. Aprogrammable register settings block 402, which is in communication withinitiator block 404, placement controller and write data queue block406, and DRAM command arbitration block 408 also is included. Theinitiator block 404 is configured to receive data from port zero throughport N, and is configured to arbitrate requests from the multiple portsthrough a feedback loop that enables the consideration of past bandwidthusage of each of the ports, that may be in addition to fairnessconsiderations. Additional details of the initiator block 404 can befound in U.S. Pat. No. 7,054,968, filed Sep. 16, 2003, and entitled“Method and Apparatus for Multi-Port Memory Controller,” which isincorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, each of ports zero through port N is assigned abandwidth requirement along with a priority. These values may be storedas programmable registers in programmable register setting block 402 andwritten upon initialization of memory controller 400 after reset. Inanother embodiment, the bandwidth requirement is defined as the maximumpercentage bandwidth the port will be allowed to have. Once this levelis exceeded, initiator block 404 is configured to no longer acceptrequests from the corresponding port until the bandwidth levels dropbelow a predefined threshold. In one embodiment, the priority of theport, along with the port arbitration logic, determines which ports areallowed to register a request to placement controller and write dataqueue block 406.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a placement controller 406, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The placementcontroller 406 includes a command input 500 coupled to a plurality ofqueue entries 502 a 502 d that form a queue. Each queue entry 502 a 502d includes queue control logic 504, which functions to control placementof new commands from the command input 500. The top queue entry, queueentry 502 a in FIG. 5, is coupled to a read/write module 506 and a bankcontrol module 508. Finally, both the read/write module 506 and the bankcontrol module 508 are coupled to output control module 510. Inoperation, the placement controller monitors all requests in the queuein order to take advantage of precharging or activating banks in thememory devices to reduce latency of commands in the command queue.

The placement controller 406 dramatically reduces the problems of theprior art DRAM controllers discussed above with reference to FIG. 3. Theplacement controller 406 is based on a premise that DRAM devices shouldhave a planed ordering in order to do bank prepping before a read/writecommand is actually issued.

In operation, the placement controller 406 places inbound commands intothe queue entries 502 a-502 d based on the requirements of the commandand the programmed operation of the queue control logic 504. Theplacement controller 406 uses a migration queue in that all commandsmigrate from left to right as the read/write module 506 acceptscommands. As mentioned above, the far right queue entry 502 a in FIG. 5is the top of the queue. Because the top queue position is a physicalposition, no multiplexer is required. That is, each command will be inthe top queue entry 502 a before the command goes to the read/writemodule 506.

Timing for the read/write module 506 generally does not change as thenumber of queue entries 502 a-502 d increases because each queue entry502 a-502 d only has three busses that the queue entry 502 a-502 dprocesses. In particular, each queue entry 502 a-502 d interfaces withthe command input module 500, the previous queue entry and the nextentry. For example, in FIG. 5, queue entry 502 b generally is onlyrequired to interface with the command input module 500, queue entry 502a, and queue entry 502 c. Moreover, the output from the top queue entryis generated from flops and therefore the queue itself does not impedeon the downstream timing of the bank prediction or read/write logicstages.

Each queue entry 502 a-502 d advantageously includes its own queuecontrol logic 504 to manage the particular queue entry 502 a-502 d. Thequeue control logic 504 determines on each clock cycle where to loaddata for the queue among the inbound busses or its own data stored inthe particular queue entry 502 a-502 d. The queue control logic 504 alsohas the ability to modify the contents of the queue data to generatestatus information that migrates with the stored command data. Thecombined logic for all the queue control logic 504 in all of the queueentries 502 a-502 d determines where each command is placed when a newcommand is applied from the command input module 500. Each time a newcommand arrives from the command input module 500, all the queue entries502 a-502 d collectivity determine what they will do with the commandand where the command will be placed within the queue.

For example, in FIG. 5, if three of the four queue entries 502 a-502 dare full and queue entry 502 b should receive the new command from thecommand input module 500, then the entry data for queue entry 502 c isplaced in queue entry 502 d, entry data for queue entry 502 b is placedin queue entry 502 c, queue entry 502 b loads the new command, and queueentry 502 a keeps its own data. This all happens in the same clockcycle. When the read/write module 506 accepts a command, all the queueentries 502 a-502 d are shifted on the same clock cycle reducing thenumber of full entries by one and clearing the entry in queue entry 502d.

Because each queue entry 502 a-502 d can change the data in the queueentry, status or control data migrates with the command. Also, bankstatus migrates with the command along with an age count. If the bankstatus migrates with the command, higher priority commands that areplaced near the front of the queue may use a bank of a command in thequeue further down the queue and re-address the bank. The commandfurther down the queue will detect that the bank was re-addressed and,when the bank lock is released, the command that was further down willagain re-address the bank for its usage. A bank lock is an indicationthat this queue entry has been allocated use of a particular bank inmemory. Each queue entry 502 a-502 d solves the problem of bankaddressing by making sure that its bank is addressed properly at alltimes based on where the command is in the queue. Each queue entry 502a-502 d indicates whether or not it has been allocated a bank. The bankprediction can therefore operate on all the valid queue entries at once.An age count is maintained with the command and when the age countunderflows, the command's priority is made higher. This process preventsa command remaining in the queue indefinitely.

Each command is accompanied by a source ID and a priority. The source IDis utilized to keep the queue from re-ordering commands from the samesource. Priority is utilized to lower the latency of the command. Thereis no association between the source ID and the priority. Hence, eachcommand from any source could be at any priority. Additional details ofsource IDs and priority can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,002, filedSep. 16, 2003, and entitled “Port Independent Data Transaction InterfaceFor Multi-Port Devices,” which is incorporated herein by reference.

Commands of like priority are normally placed in the queue in groups.The commands of higher priority are grouped to the right of the queue,with lower priority commands grouped to the left of the queue. Withineach priority group, read commands are grouped together and write aregrouped together. Within each grouping of reads, and writes, commands tothe same bank with a different row (page) are separated with othercommands. This layered approach will be referred to hereinafter as“brackets” or “bracketing.”

In one embodiment, the brackets utilized are 1) priority—to control thelatency of the command, 2) read/write—to increase bandwidth becausereads can be chained, and 3) bank split—to increase bandwidth bylowering bank overhead. In the placement controller 406, each bracket isa soft division of the queue. The entire queue may have all differentpriorities or all the same priority. Because each queue entry 502 a-502d has its own queue control logic 504 for detecting the aboveconditions, with control flags, each of the conditions can be easilydisabled providing for a large degree of control of how commands in thequeue are grouped.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method 600 for placing commands withinthe queue of the placement controller, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. In an initial operation 602, preprocessoperations are performed. Preprocess operations can include arbitratingrequests from multiple ports, assigning a source ID and priority to thecommand, and other preprocess operations that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art after a careful reading of the present disclosure.

Once a command is received, the command's priority is examined, inoperation 604. If a priority bracket for the command's prioritycurrently exists within the queue, the method 600 continues to operation608. Otherwise, the method 600 branches to operation 606.

In operation 606, the priority of the command is examined to determineif the command's priority is the highest priority in the queue. If anincoming command is of highest priority in the command queue, thiscommand interrupts the current command and executes immediately. Theinterrupted command resumes processing after the higher priority commandcompletes or when there are no more interrupting high priority commands.If an incoming command is not the highest priority in the command queue,the command is placed in the queue based on the existing brackets withinthe queue. As mentioned above, higher priority commands are placed aheadof lower priority commands. In one embodiment, if a high priorityrequest detects a data coherency issue, all commands previously in thequeue ahead of the command that caused the coherency violation areexecuted before the new high priority command regardless of theirpriority.

In operation 608, a decision is made as to whether a read/write bracketexists within the priority bracket for the new command. If a read/writebracket exists within the priority bracket for the new command, themethod 600 continues with operation 612. Otherwise, the method 600branches to operation 610.

In operation 610, a read/write bracket is created based on the type ofthe new command (read or write) and the new command is placed within thepriority bracket. Commands with like priorities are placed such thatread commands are grouped with read commands and write commands aregrouped with write commands. The order of the read verses write groupingis determined by the order in which the commands are sent to theplacement controller. For example, if a read command at a particularpriority is accepted before a write command at the same priority, theread commands will be placed ahead of write commands. On the other hand,if the write command is accepted before the read command, the writecommands will be ahead of the read commands for that particular prioritylevel.

A decision is then made as to whether the new command causes a bankconflict within the read/write bracket, in operation 612. If the newcommand causes a bank conflict within the read/write bracket, the method600 branches to operation 616. Otherwise, the method 600 continues withoperation 614.

When the new command causes a bank conflict within the read/writebracket, the new command is placed within the read/write bracket so asto remove the bank conflict on consecutive commands if possible, inoperation 616. As mentioned above, a bank conflict occurs whenconsecutive commands attempt to access different pages (rows) within thesame memory bank. Hence, embodiments of the present invention placecommands with like priorities and the same read or write types such thatbank collisions are avoided in the memory device.

When the new command does not cause a bank conflict within theread/write bracket, the command is placed after the last entry of thecommand's read or write type within the read/write bracket, in operation614. Post process operations are performed in operation 618. Postprocess operations can include, for example, moving data from a memorybank to a page holder, precharging the memory banks, and other postprocess operations that will be apparent to those skilled in the artafter a careful reading of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment of the present invention, additional conditions can beutilized to enhance the placement method 600 described above. Forexample, in one embodiment, if a read or write command is to the sameDRAM page as a previously placed transaction in the queue, the newcommand is placed behind the command to the same DRAM page. The exactplacement of the new command is based upon the general placement method600 for all the commands that are currently behind the command with thematching DRAM page. The new command retains all the priority informationwhen placed, allowing all subsequent commands to be placed in accordancewith the placement method 600.

In one embodiment, all read commands from a particular source ID arealways executed in the order they are received by the placementcontroller. In this embodiment, write commands from a particular sourceID are also executed in the order they are received by the placementcontroller. The placement controller can place read commands ahead ofwrite commands and vice versa as long as there is no data coherencyissue. If a new read or write command has the same source ID and agreater priority as the current read or write command respectively inthe queue, the new command is placed after the current command. The newcommand retains all the priority information when placed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of priority chains 700, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 7illustrates how priority chains interact with the queue entries 502a-502 d to determine the placement of new commands. A priority chain isa series of AND gates in a chain utilized to disable lower priorityqueue entries by higher priority queue entries. The priority chains 700illustrated in FIG. 7 include a write count lock priority chain 702, awrite buffer enable priority chain 704, a “Priority” priority chain 706,a Priority same priority chain 708, a read/write same priority chain710, and a bank split priority chain 712.

It should be noted that a priority chain is different than the priorityassigned to a particular command. That is, the priority of a command isa value assigned to a command when the command is sent to the placementcontroller and is part of the total command sent. While a prioritychain, as mentioned above, is a series of gates used to disableparticular queue entries from accepting new commands or shifting itscommand towards the head of the queue.

As shown in FIG. 7, each queue entry 502 a-502 d has an output to, andinput from, each priority chain 702-712. The direction of arrows on thepriority chain 702-712 indicate in which direction following queueentries 502 a-502 d will be affected by a particular queue entry. Forexample, in the “Priority” priority chain 706, the output of queue entry502 d affects all the other queue entries 502 a-502 c, queue entry 502 caffects queue entries 502 b and 502 a, queue entry 502 b affects onlyqueue entry 502 a, and queue entry 502 a does not affect any other queueentry on the “Priority” priority chain 706. We define the “Priority”priority chain 706 as going forward or going in the direction ofstandard commands. On the other hand, the Bank split priority chain 712goes in the reverse direction such that the output of queue entry 502 aaffects all other queue entries 502 b-502 d.

The “Priority” priority chain 706 is controlled by the command priorityof the command in each queue entry 502 a-502 d and the new inboundcommand from the command input module. If the priority of the command ina particular queue entry 502 a-502 d is higher than the priority of thenew inbound command, the “Priority” priority chain 706 is disabled atthat queue entry. For example, if queue entry 502 c detects that thecommand in queue entry 502 c has a higher priority than the new inboundcommand, queue entry 502 c will disable queue entry 502 b and queueentry 502 a by disabling the “Priority” priority chain 706 at queueentry 502 c.

To further explain this, if queue entry 502 c detects that the newinbound command needs to be placed at this point, queue entry 502 cdisables the entries below by disabling the “Priority” priority chain706, which disables queue entries 502 b and 502 a, and accepts the newcommand. Queue entry 502 d knows that it needs to load the new commandin queue entry 502 c because queue entry 502 d is not disabled. Queueentry 502 b and queue entry 502 a know not to do anything because theyare disabled. In this instance, queue entry 502 d receives a “1” fromthe “Priority” priority chain 706, queue entry 502 c also receives a“1,” and queue entries 502 b-502 a each receive a “0” from the“Priority” priority chain 706. Each queue entry 502 a-502 d receives aslightly different value from the “Priority” priority chain 706depending upon the conditions of the inbound command and the particulardata stored in the queue entries 502 a-502 d. The remaining prioritychains 702-704 and 708-710 have similar functions, the difference beingthe data that disables the priority chains.

In particular, the “Priority” priority chain 706 is dependent upon thepriority of a command being higher than the priority of the commandstored in the queue entry 502 a-502 d. The Priority same priority chain708 is dependent upon the priority of a command being the same as thepriority of the command stored in the queue entry 502 a-502 d. The Readwrite same priority chain 710 is dependant upon both the priority of thecommand and the type of the command being the same as the command storedin the queue entry 502 a-502 d. The Bank split priority chain 712 isdependant upon both the priority of the command and the type of thecommand being the same with a bank conflict between this entry and thenext entry.

The “Priority” priority chain 706 is utilized to detect new prioritylevels. The Priority same priority chain 708 is used to detect andappend to current priority levels. The Read write same priority chain710 is used to detect and append to read and write brackets at the samepriority level. The Bank split priority chain 712 is used to detect theinformation to place commands between commands that would otherwise havelarge overhead by using the same bank with different row (page). TheWrite buf enable priority chain 702 is used for collision detection ofwrite buffers for write commands, and the write count lock prioritychain 704 is used to coordinate access of two commands using the samewrite buffer in sequence. Because of the priority chains 702-712, eachqueue entry 502 a-502 d receives all the information necessary to make adecision as to where to load data for each queue entry 502 a-502 d.

As mentioned above, the command stored in the top queue entry, in FIG. 7queue entry 502 a, is the next command that will be loaded into theread/write module for processing. Loading the command from the top queueentry into the read/write module is referred to as a “dequeue.”Depending on whether a dequeue occurs when a new command is received,different data movement can occur within the queue. For example, supposea new command is received and a dequeue does not occur during that clockcycle. In addition, suppose the new command should be inserted intoqueue entry 502 b and that commands are currently stored in queueentries 502 a, 502 b, and 502 c. In this case the number of commandsstored in the queue is increased by one. Queue entry 502 d loads thecommand data stored in queue entry 502 c, queue entry 502 c loads thecommand data stored in queue entry 502 b, queue entry 502 b loads thenew inbound command, and queue entry 502 a does nothing, keeping itscurrent command data.

In another example, suppose a new command is received and a dequeueoccurs during the same clock cycle. As above, suppose the new commandshould be inserted into queue entry 502 b and that commands arecurrently stored in queue entries 502 a, 502 b, and 502 c. In this casethe number of commands does not change. Queue entry 502 d and queueentry 502 c do nothing, keeping their current command data. Queue entry502 a loads the command data stored in queue entry 502 b, and queueentry 502 b loads the new inbound command.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications may be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified withinthe scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

1. A method for placing commands within a queue of a placementcontroller, comprising the operations of: receiving a new inboundcommand for a banked memory device, the new inbound command having anassociated priority value and a command type; determining whether apriority bracket exists for the priority value of the new inboundcommand; when a priority bracket exists for the priority value,determining whether a read/write bracket exists within the prioritybracket for the command type of the new inbound command; and when aread/write bracket exists for the command type, determining whether thenew inbound command addresses a different page in a memory bankaddressed by a command in an adjacent queue entry.
 2. A method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising the operation of placing the newinbound command within the command queue based on existing prioritybrackets when a priority bracket does not exist for the priority valueof the new inbound command.
 3. A method as recited in claim 2, furthercomprising the operation of interrupting the current executing commandwhen the priority value of the new inbound command is higher than thepriority of the current executing command.
 4. A method as recited inclaim 1, further comprising the operation of creating a read/writebracket and placing the new inbound command in a queue entry within thepriority bracket when a read/write bracket does not exist within thepriority bracket for the command type of the new inbound command.
 5. Amethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising the operation ofplacing the new inbound command in a queue entry in the read/writebracket such that the new inbound command is not adjacent to a commandaddressing a different page in the memory bank addressed by the newinbound command.
 6. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprisingthe operation of placing the new inbound command in a last queue entryin the read/write bracket matching the command type of the new inboundcommand.
 7. A method for placing commands within a queue of a placementcontroller, comprising the operations of: receiving a new inboundcommand for a banked memory device, the new inbound command having anassociated priority value and a command type; disabling queue entriesstoring commands having a higher priority than the new inbound command;determining whether a priority bracket exists for the priority value ofthe new inbound command; and when a priority bracket exists for thepriority value, determining whether a read/write bracket exists withinthe priority bracket for the command type of the new inbound command. 8.A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising the operation ofplacing the new inbound command within the command queue based onexisting priority brackets when a priority bracket does not exist forthe priority value of the new inbound command.
 9. A method as recited inclaim 8, further comprising the operation of interrupting the currentexecuting command when the priority value of the new inbound command ishigher than the priority of the current executing command.
 10. A methodas recited in claim 7, further comprising the operation of creating aread/write bracket and placing the new inbound command in a queue entrywithin the priority bracket when a read/write bracket does not existwithin the priority bracket for the command type of the new inboundcommand.
 11. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising theoperation of determining whether the new inbound command addresses adifferent page in a memory bank addressed by a command in an adjacentqueue entry when a read/write bracket exists for the command type.
 12. Amethod as recited in claim 11, further comprising the operation ofplacing the new inbound command in a queue entry in the read/writebracket such that the new inbound command is not adjacent to a commandaddressing a different page in the memory bank addressed by the newinbound command.
 13. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprisingthe operation of placing the new inbound command in a last queue entryin the read/write bracket matching the command type of the new inboundcommand.
 14. A method for placing commands within a queue of a placementcontroller, comprising the operations of: receiving a new inboundcommand for a banked memory device, the new inbound command having anassociated priority value and a command type; examining a plurality ofpriority chains, wherein each priority chain includes a plurality of ANDgates in a chain, the priority chains capable of allowing higherpriority queue entries to disable lower priority queue entries;disabling queue entries storing commands having a higher priority thanthe new inbound command utilizing the plurality of priority chains;disabling queue entries that have a different command type than the newinbound command utilizing the plurality of priority chains; anddisabling queue entries that storing commands causing a bank conflictbetween adjacent queue entries utilizing the plurality of prioritychains.
 15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the queue entriesstoring commands having a higher priority than the new inbound commandare disabled using a “Priority” priority chain that is controlled by acommand priority value of commands.
 16. A method as recited in claim 14,wherein the queue entries storing commands having a different commandtype than a new inbound command are disabled using a read write samepriority chain that is controlled by a command type value of commands.17. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the queue entries storingcommands causing a bank conflict between adjacent queue entries aredisabled using a bank split priority chain that is controlled by aaddress value of commands.
 18. A method as recited in claim 14, whereinthe plurality of priority chains includes a write buf enable prioritychain that is capable of collision detection of write buffers for writecommands.
 19. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the plurality ofpriority chains includes a write count lock priority chain that iscapable of coordinating access of two commands using a same write bufferin sequence.
 20. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the pluralityof priority chains includes a Priority same priority chain that iscontrolled by a command priority value of commands, and wherein thePriority same priority chain is capable of disabling queue entriesstoring commands having a different priority than a new inbound command.